Anonymous Wi-Fi hotspots in Belarus outlawed

New regulations oblige users of Wi-Fi and home area networks to present passports.

The First Deputy Prime Minister Uladzimir Syamashka has signed the Government decree # 646 “On amending the Rules for the provision of telecommunication services”, Electroname.com informs.

In one of the parts of the decree it is stated that “providing of data transmission and telematic communications services in public internet access centres is to be carried out after identification of a user by his personal details (name, patronymic, surname, type and number of an identification document, the name of the agency that had issued the document). The decree came in force after its official publication, that is, a month and a half ago.

The Decree #60 gives the following definition of “public internet access centres” – it includes computer clubs, internet cafes, home networks and other places which provide collective access of users to Internet. In other words, the new Rules for the provision of telecommunication services even now oblige users of Wi-Fi hotspots and home networks to present their IDs, and providers of internet services to identify users and store this information.